COMPETITION V

 When the uninformed chauffeur¹ drove the car with a grand sweep under the marquise of the ostentatious pale yellow block in the Avenue Hoche where Irene Wheeler had had her flat, Mr. Ingram and a police-agent were standing² on the steps, but nobody else was near. Little Mr. Ingram came forward anxiously, his eyes humid, and his face drawn³ with pain and distress⁴.

 

"  We know," said Lois. "I met Mr. Cardow at Longchamps. He knew."

 

Mr. Ingram's pain and distress seemed to increase.

 

He said, after a moment:

 

"Alfred will drive you home, dear, at once. Alfred, vous seriez gentil de reconduire Mademoiselle à la rue⁵ d'Athènes." He had the air of supplicating⁶ the amiable⁷ chauffeur. "Mr. Cannon⁸, I particularly want a few words with you."

 

"But, father, I must come in!" said Lois. "I must——"

 

"You will go home immediately. Please, please do not add to my difficulties. I shall come home myself as quickly as possible. You can do nothing here. The seals have been affixed⁹."

 

Lois raised her chin in silence.

 

Then Mr. Ingram turned to the police-agent, spoke¹¹ to him in French, and pointed¹² to the car persuasively¹³; and the police-agent permissively nodded. The chauffeur, with an affectation of detachment worthy¹⁴ of the greatest days of valetry, drove off, leaving George behind. Mr. Ingram descended¹⁵ the steps.

 

"I think, perhaps, we might go to a café," said he in a tone which dispersed¹⁶ George's fear of a discussion as to the propriety¹⁷ of the unchaperoned visit to the races.

 

They sat down on the terrasse of a large café near the Place des Ternes, a few hundred yards away from the Avenue Hoche. The café was nearly empty, citizens being either in the Bois or on the main boulevards. Mr. Ingram sadly ordered bocks. The waiter, flapping his long apron¹⁸, called out in a loud voice as he went within: " Deux blonds, deux. " George supplied cigarettes.

 

"Mr. Cannon," began Mr. Ingram, "it is advisable for me to tell you a most marvellous and painful story. I have only just heard it. It has overwhelmed me, but I must do my duty." He paused.

 

"Certainly," said George self-consciously, not knowing what to say. He nearly blushed as, in an attempt to seem at ease, he gazed negligently¹⁹ round at the rows of chairs and marble tables, and at the sparse²⁰ traffic of the somnolent²¹ Place.

 

Mr. Ingram proceeded.

 

"When I first knew Irene Wheeler she was an art student here. So was I. But I was already married, of course, and older than she. Exactly what her age was I should not care  to say. I can, however, say quite truthfully that her appearance has scarcely altered in those nineteen years. She always affirmed that her relatives, in Indianapolis, were wealthy—or at least had money, but that they were very mean with her. She lived in the simplest way. As for me, I had to give up art for something less capricious, but capricious enough in all conscience. Miss Wheeler went to America and was away for some time—a year or two. When she came back to Paris she told us that she had made peace with her people, and that her uncle, whom for present purposes I will call Mr. X, a very celebrated²² railway magnate of Indianapolis, had adopted her. Her new manner of life amply confirmed these statements."

 

" Deux bocks ," cried the waiter, slapping down on the table two saucers and two stout²³ glass mugs filled with frothing golden liquid.

 

George, unaccustomed to the ritual of cafés, began at once to sip²⁴, but Mr. Ingram, aware that the true boulevardier always ignores his bock for several minutes, behaved accordingly.

 

"She was evidently extremely rich. I have had some experience, and I estimate that she had the handling of at least half a million francs a year. She seemed to be absolutely her own mistress. You have had an opportunity of judging her style of existence. However, her attitude towards ourselves was entirely²⁵ unchanged. She remained intimate with my wife, who, I may say, is an excellent judge of character, and she was exceedingly kind to our girls, especially Lois—but Laurencine too—and as they grew up she treated them like sisters. Now, Mr. Cannon, I shall be perfectly²⁶ frank with you. I shall not pretend that I was not rather useful to Miss Wheeler—I mean in the Press. She had social ambitions. And why not? One may condescend²⁷ towards them, but do they not serve a purpose in the structure of society? Very rich as she was, it was easy for me to be useful to her. And at worst her pleasure in publicity²⁸ was quite innocent—indeed, it was so innocent as to be charming. Naïve, shall we call it?"

 

Here Mr. Ingram smiled sadly, tasted his bock, and threw away the end of a cigarette.

 

"Well," he resumed, "I am coming to the point. This is the point, which I have learnt scarcely an hour ago—I was called up on the telephone immediately after you and Lois had gone. This is the point. Mr. X was not poor Irene's  uncle, and he had not adopted her. But it was his money that she was spending." Mr. Ingram gazed fixedly²⁹ at George.

 

"I see," said George calmly, rising to the rôle of man of the world. "I see." He had strange mixed sensations of pleasure, pride, and confusion. "And you've just found this out?"

 

"I have just found it out from Mr. X himself, whom I met for the first time to-day—in poor Irene's flat. I never assisted at such a scene. Never! It positively³⁰ unnerved me. Mr. X is a man of fifty-five, fabulously³¹ wealthy, used to command, autocratic, famous in all the Stock Exchanges of the world. When I tell you that he cried like a child ... Oh! I never had such an experience. His infatuation for Irene—indescribable! Indescribable! She had made her own terms with him. He told me himself. Astounding³² terms, but for him it was those terms or nothing. He accepted them—had to. She was to be quite free. The most absolute discretion³³ was to be observed. He came to Paris or London every year, and sometimes she went to America. She utterly³⁴ refused to live in America."

 

"Why didn't she marry him?"

 

"He has a wife. I have no doubt in my own mind that one of his reasons for accepting her extraordinary terms was to keep in close touch with her at all costs in case his wife should die. Otherwise he might have lost her altogether. He told me many things about poor Irene's family in Indianapolis which I will not repeat. It was true that they had money, as Irene said; but as for anything else ...! The real name was not Wheeler."

 

"Has he been over, here long?"

 

"He landed at Cherbourg last night. Just arrived."

 

"And she killed herself at once."

 

"Whether the deed was done immediately before or immediately after his arrival is not yet established. And I need hardly tell you that Mr. X has already fixed¹⁰ up arrangements not to appear in the case at all. But one thing is sure—she had made all the preparations for suicide, made them with the greatest care. The girls saw her yesterday, and both Lois and I spoke to her on the telephone this morning. Not a trace of anything in her voice. I assume she had given a message for Lois to the chauffeur."

 

"Yes," said George. "We never dreamed——"

 

"Of course not. Of course not."

 

"But why did she——"

 

"  Another man, my dear sir! Another man! A young man named Defourcambault, in the French Embassy in London."

 

"Oh, him!" George burst out. "I know him," he added fiercely.

 

"You do? Yes, I remember Laurencine saying.... Poor Irene, I fear, was very deeply in love with him. She had written to Mr. X about Defourcambault. He showed me the letter—most touching³⁵, really most touching. His answer to it was to come to Europe at once. But poor Irene's death had nothing to do with his coming. She did not know he was coming. She shot herself as she lay in bed, and on the pillow was a letter from this man Defourcambault—well, saying good-bye to her. I saw the letter. Not a letter that I should wish to remember. Perhaps she had told him something of her life. I much fear that Defourcambault will be fetched from London, though I hope not. There would be no object.... No, thank you. I will not smoke again. I only wanted to say this to you. All Paris knows that my daughters were intimate with poor Irene. Now, if anything comes out, if anything should come out, if there's any talk—you see my fear. I wish to assure you, Mr. Cannon, that I had not the slightest suspicion, not the slightest. And yet we journalists cannot exactly be called ingenuous³⁶! But I had not the slightest suspicion, nor had my wife. You know the situation between Laurencine and your friend Lucas. You and he are very intimate, I believe. May I count on you to explain everything from my point of view to Mr. Lucas? I could not bear that the least cloud should rest upon my little Laurencine."

 

"You needn't trouble about Lucas," said George positively. "Lucas 'll be all right. Still, I'll talk to him."

 

"Thank you very much. Thank you very much. I knew I could rely on you. I've kept you a long time, but I'm sure you understand. I'm thinking only of my girls. Not for anything would I have them know the truth about the affair."

 

"But aren't they bound to know it?" George asked.

 

Mr. Ingram was wounded. "I hope not. I hope not," he said gravely. "It is not right that young girls should know such things."

 

"But surely, sooner or later——"

 

"Ah! After they are married, conceivably. That would be quite different," he admitted, with cheerfulness. "And  now," he smiled, "I'm afraid I've got to go and write the case up for London. I can catch the mail, I think. If not, I must cable. But they hate me to cable when the mail is possible. Can I drop you anywhere?"

 

Simultaneously³⁷ he signalled to a taxi and knocked on the window for the attendance of the waiter.

 

"Thanks. If you're going anywhere near the Place de l'Opéra," said George.

1 chauffeur   

n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车

参考例句：

• The chauffeur handed the old lady from the car.这个司机搀扶这个老太太下汽车。
• She went out herself and spoke to the chauffeur.她亲自走出去跟汽车司机说话。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

4 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

5 rue   

n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔

参考例句：

• You'll rue having failed in the examination.你会悔恨考试失败。
• You're going to rue this the longest day that you live.你要终身悔恨不尽呢。

6 supplicating   

v.祈求，哀求，恳求( supplicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She stammered a few supplicating words. 她吞吞吐吐说了一些求情的话。 来自互联网

7 amiable   

adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的

参考例句：

• She was a very kind and amiable old woman.她是个善良和气的老太太。
• We have a very amiable companionship.我们之间存在一种友好的关系。

8 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

9 affixed   

adj.[医]附着的，附着的v.附加( affix的过去式和过去分词 )；粘贴；加以；盖（印章）

参考例句：

• The label should be firmly affixed to the package. 这张标签应该牢牢地贴在包裹上。
• He affixed the sign to the wall. 他将标记贴到墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

13 persuasively   

adv.口才好地；令人信服地

参考例句：

• Students find that all historians argue reasonably and persuasively. 学生们发现所有的历史学家都争论得有条有理，并且很有说服力。 来自辞典例句
• He spoke a very persuasively but I smelled a rat and refused his offer. 他说得头头是道，但我觉得有些可疑，于是拒绝了他的建议。 来自辞典例句

14 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

15 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

16 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

17 propriety   

n.正当行为；正当；适当

参考例句：

• We hesitated at the propriety of the method.我们对这种办法是否适用拿不定主意。
• The sensitive matter was handled with great propriety.这件机密的事处理得极为适当。

18 apron   

n.围裙；工作裙

参考例句：

• We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
• She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。

19 negligently   

参考例句：

• Losses caused intentionally or negligently by the lessee shall be borne by the lessee. 如因承租人的故意或过失造成损失的，由承租人负担。 来自经济法规部分
• Did the other person act negligently? 他人的行为是否有过失？ 来自口语例句

20 sparse   

adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的

参考例句：

• The teacher's house is in the suburb where the houses are sparse.老师的家在郊区，那里稀稀拉拉有几处房子。
• The sparse vegetation will only feed a small population of animals.稀疏的植物只够喂养少量的动物。

21 somnolent   

adj.想睡的，催眠的；adv.瞌睡地；昏昏欲睡地；使人瞌睡地

参考例句：

• The noise of the stream had a pleasantly somnolent effect.小河潺潺的流水声有宜人的催眠效果。
• The sedative makes people very somnolent.这种镇静剂会让人瞌睡。

22 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

23   

参考例句：

24 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

25 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

26 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

27 condescend   

v.俯就，屈尊；堕落，丢丑

参考例句：

• Would you condescend to accompany me?你肯屈尊陪我吗？
• He did not condescend to answer.He turned his back on me.他不愿屈尊回答我的问题。他不理睬我。

28 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

29 fixedly   

adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地

参考例句：

• He stared fixedly at the woman in white. 他一直凝视着那穿白衣裳的女人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The great majority were silent and still, looking fixedly at the ground. 绝大部分的人都不闹不动，呆呆地望着地面。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

30 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

31 fabulously   

难以置信地，惊人地

参考例句：

• The couple are said to be fabulously wealthy. 据说这对夫妇家财万贯。
• I should say this shirt matches your trousers fabulously. 我得说这衬衫同你的裤子非常相配。

32 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

33 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

34 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

35 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

36 ingenuous   

adj.纯朴的，单纯的；天真的；坦率的

参考例句：

• Only the most ingenuous person would believe such a weak excuse!只有最天真的人才会相信这么一个站不住脚的借口！
• With ingenuous sincerity,he captivated his audience.他以自己的率真迷住了观众。

37 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。